WheelerPresents A
Chronology of
Clowndom

This Page Takes You from 1970 - 1979

New Material Added
On
08/09/2004

1970

Peggy
Williams became the first woman accepted into the Ringling Brothers
Barnum & Bailey
Clown
College. She graduated, was given a contract and spent the next
ten years as an excellent performing
clown, which
earned her induction into theClown Hall of Fame.

Clown Hall of Fame inducteeGlen
"Frosty" Little was named Boss
Clownfor the
Red Unit of Ringling
Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus.(Picture courtesy of the International
Clown Hall of
Fame)

Clown Hall of Fame inductee Don "Homer"
Burda first performed as a
clown,
at the request of a children's theatre troupe.

Clown Hall of Fame inducteeBob Bell received an Emmy award for his portrayal of Bozo
the
Clown.This was also the year of a
major change in Bob's "Bozo" costume. It was changed
fromredtoblue. (Pictures courtesy of
WGN-TV)

Clown and Circus Halls of Fame inductee Otto
Griebling's larynx was surgically removed. This did not affect his
clownact,
which was always silent.

NBC aired a documentary entitled
Circus Town. The featured performer was "Joey" Kelly, son of
Emmett "Weary Willie" Kelly, Jr. and grandson of
Clown and Circus Halls of Fame inducteeEmmett
"Weary Willie" Kelly Sr. NBC continued to air the documentary for several
years. (picture courtesty of Joey Kelly)

1971

Clown Hall of Fame inducteeFrankie Saluto
retired from the circus.(Picture courtesy of
the International
Clown Hall of
Fame)

Clown Hall of Fame inducteeBobby Kaye
joined the teaching staff of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey
Clown
College. (Picture courtesy of the International
Clown Hall of
Fame)

Clown Hall of Fame inductee Steve "T. J.
Tatters" Smith graduated from the Ringling Brothers Barnum &
Bailey
Clown
College, and was given a contract to perform and act as
a goodwill ambassador with the blue unit.(Picture courtesy of the International
Clown
Hall of
Fame)

Public Law 91-443was signed into law by
U.S. President Richard Nixon, creating the first official
National
Clown
Week. Bill
"Boom-Boom" Bailey
(right)had been appointed chairman of
National
Clown Week
the previous year, and he served almost continuously in the position until
his death in 1990.(Picture courtesy of the
International Clown Hall of Fame)

The
Larry Harmon Pictures Corporation purchased Capital Records' copyright
to the Bozo the
Clownrecords. Harmon now owned the
exclusive rights to every facet of Bozo the
Clown.
(Pictures courtesy of
WGN-TV)

Clown Hall of Fame inducteeAnni
Fratellini co-starred in a Frederico Fellini mockumentary entitled
The
Clowns.
(Picture courtesy of the International
Clown Hall of
Fame)

1972

Felix Adler was inducted
into
the Circus Hall of Fame. Also inducted that year was circus manager and former
clown, Pat
Valdo (Valdo's picture not found yet).

Clown and Circus Halls of Fame inductee Otto
Griebling died. (born 1896 in Colenz, Germany). His
larynx had been removed two years before, but this did not affect his
clownact,
which was always silent.

Charlie Chaplin returned to the United States after years of
self exile to be presented with an honorary Academy Award.

Emmett "Weary Willie" Kelly Jr. fulfilled a dream by creating
the Emmett Kelly Jr. Circus. It became the only circus
to ever perform at the White House. (Which it has done
twice.)

Clown Hall of Fame inductee Don Burda first performed
as his tramp
clown character,
Homer.

1973

Clown and
former equestrian Otto Griebling was inducted into the Circus Hall
of Fame.

Already a seasoned circus
clownand
performer in Hungary, Mihaly Mezaros joined the Ringling Brothers and
Barnum & Bailey Circus, billed as Michu, the
smallest
clownon earth, and the smallest man
on earth. At a mere 2 feet 9 inches tall, Michu is shorter than
Barnum's famous General Tom Thumb was at the time of his death.
(However, the General was shorter than Michu at the time he was working
for P.T. Barnum; he just hadn't finished growing.)

Clown Hall of Fame inducteeDimitriappeared
in the United States, performing with the Big Apple Circus.He
also won the coveted GrockPrize that year.

1974

Clown Hall of Fame inducteeAnni Fratellini,
along with her husband Pierre Etaix, founded the Annie Fratellini
Circus School; offering both artistic and technical training.
It was the first such school in France.
(Picture courtesy of the International
Clown Hall of
Fame)

Clown Hall of Fame inductee and British circus great
Nikolai "Coco" Poliakov died.
(Born 1900 in Russia)

Clown Hall of Fame
inducteeJim Howle retired
from the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus to pursue
his interest in painting. Since then he has created portrait paintings which
are on display in the
Clown Hall of Fame, the Smithsonian Institute,
and the Leningrad Gallery.(Picture courtesy of the International
Clown
Hall of
Fame)

1975

Clown Hall of Fame inducteeBobby Kaye was put
in charge of all makeup classes at the Ringling Brothers and Barnum &
Bailey Clown College. (Picture courtesy of the International
Clown Hall of Fame)

Charlie
Chaplin was knighted by Great Britain's Queen Elizabeth II. He asked
to be addressed as Sir Charles, not Sir Charlie, possibly to separate his
real life from his screen character .

The Pickle Family Circus was formed in San Francisco.
One of the founders, Larry Pisoni, gained fame as
Lorenzo Pickle the
Clown.

Clownsof America established the CHARLIE Awardto honor the
alley that did the most to promote National
Clowns
Week the previous year. CHARLIE stands for Clowns Have AReal Love In Everyone.

The first alley to win the CHARLIE AWARD was The Grand and Glorious
Galaxy of
Clowns,
Alley #55.

Richard "Snowflake"Snowberg first performed as a
clown, starting to a long career that led to
his induction into
the Clown Hall of Fame . Prior to this, he was a straight
magician.

1976

Clown Hall of Fame
inducteeChester Sherman (far
left), of the
clown duo
known as the Sherman Brothers, died. ( birthdate unknown).
Clown Hall of Fame inducteeJoe Vani,
(near left)retired when his partner
died.(Picture courtesy of the International
Clown Hall of
Fame)

The International Circus
Clowns
Clubofficially changed its name to
Clowns
International. The name change was in recognition
of the many different spheres
clowns
inhabit now. (circus, private parties, theatre, etc.)

WGN-TV began to broadcast via satellite, and
Clown Hall of Fame
inductee Bob Bell's
Bozo the
Clown became
a familiar face to children and adults throughout the United States.(Picture courtesy of WGN-TV)

1979

Clown and Circus Halls
of Fame inductee Emmett Leo "Weary
Willie" Kelly Sr. died in
Sarasota, Florida. (born 1898 in Sedan, Kansas,
USA)Emmett died in classic "Weary Willie"
style, suffering a heart attack while taking out the trash.

Clown Hall of Fame
inducteeCharlie Rivels
performed at the Grona Lunds Tivoli in Stockholm,
Sweden, marking his 80th year in show business.